Gov. Brewer vetoes bill making changes to online education

Governor's concerns include power that would be granted to state

by Anne Ryman - May. 14, 2012 09:50 PMThe Republic | azcentral.com

Gov. Jan Brewer on Monday vetoed a bill that would have enacted sweeping changes to the state's online-education system.

The legislation would have made it easier for Arizona junior- and high-school students to take online courses, which likely would have pushed further growth in the system. The bill also would have boosted accountability by creating a master list of approved courses and a state ranking and evaluation of each course.

In addition, Senate Bill 1259 would have required students to take final exams in online classes in the presence of another person to help prevent cheating.

In a letter accompanying her veto, Brewer said she was concerned about the appropriateness of the state "or an entity on behalf of the state approving online courses or curriculum."

She also cited a provision that would have paid online schools more state funding per student if the student mastered a course. "I strongly support moving toward funding outcomes; however, ADE (the Arizona Department of Education) may not be able to implement the systems properly, at least as the bill is drafted."

Brewer added that she believes online learning will become more common, and she looks forward to working with the bill's sponsor to improve high school students' access to quality online learning.

Sen. Rich Crandall, R-Mesa, who sponsored the legislation, was traveling on Monday and unavailable for comment, his office said. In a previous interview, Crandall said the legislation would do three things: provide students with more access to online courses, set a quality bar, and establish an evaluation process for the quality and effectiveness.

"Those are three things that really make a difference," said Crandall, who is chairman of the Senate Education Committee.

Some educators said that while the legislation provided some significant regulatory changes, it also had some big holes, including weak test-proctoring requirements and an exemption for schools that only enroll full-time students.

"I would have liked to have seen it go further," said Justin Bathon, an education professor at the University of Kentucky who reviewed the legislation at the request of The Arizona Republic.

Attempts to change state law come at a time when online education in K-12 is spreading across the country. The number of students in Arizona online schools has nearly tripled over six years, to nearly 37,000 in the school year 2010-11, the latest year for which data is available. As enrollment grows, so have concerns that the quality of online classes is poor.

In December,The Republic published a six-part investigative series on online education. The series detailed how Arizona's online K-12 programs have relatively lax oversight, limited disclosure of key information and few or no requirements for how schools monitor their tests or train their teachers. The risks of cheating in the largest online schools are significant, and questions about quality and lack of rigor surround the system.

The legislation would have required school districts to allow students in grades seven through 12 to take up to two online courses per year from a "master list" of online courses approved by the state. The courses would have been for core academic or college credit. Right now, districts set their own policies on the number and types of online courses they will accept.

Parents also would have had access to more information about the quality of online courses.

The legislation charged the Arizona State Board of Education with developing a ranking and evaluation system for online courses based on several quality factors. The results for each course would have been published on the Arizona Department of Education's website. The state board also would have been required to develop a process for removing low-ranked courses from the master list.

Under the bill, online schools that are already part of the state program would have automatically had their courses approved to the master list but would have had to submit their courses for approval beginning in 2019.

Online providers that are not part of the state program would have been able present online courses for evaluation to the state board. This could include school districts, non-profits and for-profit companies, among others. The bill also would have allowed these online programs to earn more state money if students complete the course and demonstrate mastery on state-approved tests.

The legislation stopped short of applying to all online programs. Online schools that serve only full-time students would have been exempt. Elective courses also weren't covered by the bill, at least initially.

Students who take online courses also would have faced a little more scrutiny when they took key exams under the legislation. The bill required a non-family member to be in the room while the student is taking midterms and finals. The state now only requires that statewide assessments, such as the Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards test, be supervised by the school.

Some district online programs currently have even stricter requirements for proctoring exams. They make students take their final exams in person in the presence of school personnel. But some of the state's largest online schools do not require in-person supervising of final exams. Nor do they require someone to be present in the room when students take finals.